Luanne Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 Is this something someone could work toward or do you think a person is born being a scholar/intellect? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayne J Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 Just my opinion, but I think genes have less to do with it than desire. Some people are born with more potential to be scholars, but if they have no desire, no discipline and no focus, they will never fulfill that potential. Meanwhile, those born with less potential who have a burning desire to learn and know and understand, generally do. At least that is my most humble hope... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 I think it's far, far more about interest than genetics. I know a mechanic who's favourite book of all time is War and Peace. I know someone who went to the most prestigious girl's school in the state, and obtained a humanities degree from one of the more prestigious universities in the country and freely admits she only reads one book per year. Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpupg Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 I think it's far, far more about interest than genetics. :iagree: Neither of my parents read a book unless it's information they need soon. I can't sleep at night if I haven't had my daily dose of reading. Where did that come from? :001_huh: Not that I'd call myself a scholar, heh heh ... just that it's more individual than genetics. Karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaichiki Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 Could the interest/motivation somehow be tied into genetics? I've noticed that my children each have a specific drive/interest/motivation toward certain areas... but where did it come from? I wonder if it is somehow innate... they seem to have had these interests from a very young age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 I think its both. Just like some people are born with the potential to be gymnasts or football players....some have more potential to be scholars. However it seems most people have more intellectual potential than they ever attain. It's going to be easier for some than others. I know its more politically correct to say we can all do anything we want...but I doubt it's true. But most of us dont live up to anything like our own potential so I like to think in terms of my own natural inclinations and abilities, rather than compare myself to others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpupg Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 However it seems most people have more intellectual potential than they ever attain. :iagree:\ Maybe the question should be why so many people don't seem interested ... ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luanne Posted September 20, 2009 Author Share Posted September 20, 2009 :iagree:\ Maybe the question should be why so many people don't seem interested ... ? I've wondered for a long time why people aren't interested. I don't know why one wouldn't want to learn as much as they are capable of ... or at least try to learn new stuff. I love reading, studying, and learning so it is very difficult for me to understand why someone wouldn't want to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 It's a combination of genetics and interest. I was friends with a plumber who took night courses in philosophy (he didn't come from an academically oriented family and his dad was a plumber) and his wife before I moved far away. So he is an intellectual with a hands-on trade. I once googled him and he's also an avid bird watcher (found him on a birdwatching page for my home town area.) I don't include enjoying literary books with being both an intellect and a scholar, necessarily, although they can go hand in hand, of course. Some people read literary books just for the story and happen to like them well written and pithy--I did that for years, although I do come from a more intellectual family and have been called one by people before. To me, being an intellect involves deep thinking, and that's not always tied into how much academic education one has (some have lots of academics but not much deep thinking). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 To me, scholar and intellect both imply discipline and study and work. There might be some genetic component in intelligence but asking if there's one the being a scholar and intellect is something like asking if there's a genetic component involved in being a chartered accountant or large animal vet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vida Winter Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 Is this something someone could work toward or do you think a person is born being a scholar/intellect? I'm sure it is always something one could work toward but in my opinion they have distinctly negative connotations. To put it simply, I love learning and abhor academia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luanne Posted September 21, 2009 Author Share Posted September 21, 2009 "in my opinion they have distinctly negative connotations" :leaving: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 :iagree:\ Maybe the question should be why so many people don't seem interested ... ? Effort is required, I guess. Then, the more academically minded you become, the fewer people there seem to be to talk to. There's nothing wrong with talking about handbags, I just don't like doing it. There's nothing wrong with talking about education theory either, but most people I know don't like doing it! Doing things to outgrow your peer group doesn't seem so sensible if you don't have a new set to move into. What do you do when your old friends become too boring to talk to? This is the trouble my brother has been having, anyway. His friends are funny when they're drunk, which is most of the time, it seems, but they aren't intellectually fulfilling. Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 Effort is required, I guess. Then, the more academically minded you become, the fewer people there seem to be to talk to. There's nothing wrong with talking about handbags, I just don't like doing it. There's nothing wrong with talking about education theory either, but most people I know don't like doing it! Doing things to outgrow your peer group doesn't seem so sensible if you don't have a new set to move into. What do you do when your old friends become too boring to talk to? This is the trouble my brother has been having, anyway. His friends are funny when they're drunk, which is most of the time, it seems, but they aren't intellectually fulfilling. Rosie For a long time, I was able to do both kinds of conversation, but lately I get tired of the same old same old with the handbag conversation set and find myself having good conversations with fewer people as a result. It doesn't work well with my extended family, however, because although they can have intellectual conversations, we often have radically different opinions. Plus, most of them aren't able to have the kind of conversation I enjoy where we examine all the sides on a number of the issues. Some of this could be due to family history and emotions, of course. That can happen elsewhere, too, of course, but it's easier to avoid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 I guess I just dont hang out with the handbag crowd very much...I had forgotten there are people out there like that, I guess. I probably shut them out years ago and forgot. I come from an academic family...but I didnt really find that any more fulfilling than the more working class people I came across when we moved to the country. Academia and intellectualism was a prison I sought to escape, not to emulate. I am forever a disappointment to parts of my family. I know an Irishman who literally couldnt write until my mother taught him enough to fill out forms. However, he was well read and politically savvy. My mother also sought to escape the world of false intellectualism and made sure I didnt get stuck there- at the same time as she continued at university studiing history for her own interest. I think many people do continue to educate themselves...but maybe just not in the general, broad sense we are used to in discussing a classical type education. Many men of my mother's generation seem to read modern writings widely and know far more about politics than I do (as I have little interest). I have interesting conversations with lots of people....well educated and not. People are interesting if you dig a little. Lack of education doesnt mean shallow by any means, and sometimes it can lead to a unique viewpoint as well. And...being well educated can make one awfully shallow and dry and 2 dimensional- my father is a scientist and I love him, but I dont want to be like him. I would rather be like my mother, who is less well educated but full of warmth and a sense of humanity. A good education is a blessing, no doubt about it...but its not the be all and end all of having a meaningful life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen in VA Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 Just what Peela said! Academia and intellectualism was a prison I sought to escape, not to emulate. I am forever a disappointment to parts of my family. People are interesting if you dig a little. Lack of education doesn't mean shallow by any means, and sometimes it can lead to a unique viewpoint as well. And...being well educated can make one awfully shallow and dry and 2 dimensional A good education is a blessing, no doubt about it...but its not the be all and end all of having a meaningful life. :iagree::iagree::iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 I've tried to teach my children this. GRIN It makes it hard to insist that they do their history, though. And go to college. Until they decide on their own that they want to go, anyway. And it makes it hard to like some of their friends because you don't know them well enough to see what is buried inside. And it makes it hard to critisize some of their decisions, ones you would rather they didn't make. The perils of being open-minded and non-judgmental... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 I guess I just dont hang out with the handbag crowd very much...I had forgotten there are people out there like that, I guess. I probably shut them out years ago and forgot. I come from an academic family...but I didnt really find that any more fulfilling than the more working class people I came across when we moved to the country. Academia and intellectualism was a prison I sought to escape, not to emulate. I am forever a disappointment to parts of my family. I know an Irishman who literally couldnt write until my mother taught him enough to fill out forms. However, he was well read and politically savvy. My mother also sought to escape the world of false intellectualism and made sure I didnt get stuck there- at the same time as she continued at university studiing history for her own interest. I think many people do continue to educate themselves...but maybe just not in the general, broad sense we are used to in discussing a classical type education. Many men of my mother's generation seem to read modern writings widely and know far more about politics than I do (as I have little interest). I have interesting conversations with lots of people....well educated and not. People are interesting if you dig a little. Lack of education doesnt mean shallow by any means, and sometimes it can lead to a unique viewpoint as well. And...being well educated can make one awfully shallow and dry and 2 dimensional- my father is a scientist and I love him, but I dont want to be like him. I would rather be like my mother, who is less well educated but full of warmth and a sense of humanity. A good education is a blessing, no doubt about it...but its not the be all and end all of having a meaningful life. Great posts with some salient points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lgm Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 I think everyone is born curious. Some give up on satisfying their curiousity, for all the various reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 Or maybe, as you grow older, you have satisfied your curiosity about many things? And you haven't found new things that you are curious about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luanne Posted September 23, 2009 Author Share Posted September 23, 2009 (edited) Effort is required, I guess. Then, the more academically minded you become, the fewer people there seem to be to talk to. There's nothing wrong with talking about handbags, I just don't like doing it. There's nothing wrong with talking about education theory either, but most people I know don't like doing it! Doing things to outgrow your peer group doesn't seem so sensible if you don't have a new set to move into. What do you do when your old friends become too boring to talk to? This is the trouble my brother has been having, anyway. His friends are funny when they're drunk, which is most of the time, it seems, but they aren't intellectually fulfilling. Rosie I've never cared for the handbag conversation. I don't think I ever will be interested in it. I don't fault people who like that kind of thing though. My mother and sister love talking about stuff like that (and shoes). I just sit there and smile and nod. I know the conversation isn't going to last forever. I know I am an odd duck (remember I admitted it in an earlier post). I've learned to deal with it. I do have friends I can talk to that I have more in common with so I am ok. ... and by the way, Rosie ... the more I get to know you, the more I like you. :D Edited September 23, 2009 by Luanne to fix my bad grammar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moni Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 both imply discipline and study and work.. http://www.amazon.com/Catholic-Book-Character-Success/dp/1928832563 and http://www.amazon.com/Study-Hard-Work-Accessible-Available/dp/156792025X/ref=pd_sim_b_2 Both books address this topic :) :seeya: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luanne Posted September 23, 2009 Author Share Posted September 23, 2009 It is funny and interesting that you should post these two links when I just picked up Study is Hard Work from the library yesterday. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 http://www.amazon.com/Catholic-Book-Character-Success/dp/1928832563 and http://www.amazon.com/Study-Hard-Work-Accessible-Available/dp/156792025X/ref=pd_sim_b_2 Both books address this topic :) :seeya: Both books are now in my shopping cart. :D The character book looks especially like something I've been wanting for quite awhile. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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